Danville native in historic service

A Danville native and Marine will serve on the USS New York — a ship crafted with steel from the World Trade Center in its bow — for its commissioning on Saturday.

Maj. Randall Jones arrived in New York on Monday from Camp Lejeune, N.C. The meaning of the ceremony hit him when they sailed up the Hudson River past the site of the 9/11 attacks.

New York leaders, emergency responders, families of 9/11 victims and U.S. dignitaries will gather across from the World Trade Center site to return the ship’s 21-gun salute and flag dip.

“I’m extremely blessed to be a part of this historic event. We’ve taken parts of that and built a warship, almost like a phoenix rising,” Jones said. “It’s a symbol. It shows our perseverance to adversity and how we recovered.”

Jones, 37, showed perseverance in his own life. The George Washington High School graduate lost his father, Darroll Jones, unexpectedly when he was a 19-year-old Averett University student.

He called it the “turning point” in his life. Jones helped take care of his mom Phyllis Jones Bickford and younger brother Adam of Danville.

The family struggled, but Jones said he wouldn’t be the man he is without his mom’s prayers and guidance.

Owner and pharmacist Jack Thomson at Professional Pharmacy in Danville became a father figure as Jones worked for him through high school and college.

Jones was an exceptional employee and earned his place as an officer in the Marine Corps and at the commissioning ceremony, Thomson said.

“He was someone I always felt like I could trust and depend on,” Thomson said. “Everything he’s had, he had to work hard for it.”

Jones felt called to duty just as his father and two grandfathers had served in the Army. He wanted to fol-low in their footsteps and serve his country.

He joined the Marine Corps after graduating Averett in 1997. He was commissioned as an officer in 1998 and now serves as the logistics officer for the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which comprises 2,200 Marines and sailors employed aboard three amphibious Naval ships. They are expected to deploy late next year.

Jones already completed a tour in Iraq and a deployment to the Middle East around the Persian Gulf. After 12 years in the Marines, he’s still touched by the stories of the 9/11 attacks and appreciates the welcome New Yorkers offered him and his comrades.

After the commissioning, he’ll return to North Carolina.

“It’s a shame his grandfather and his dad didn’t get to see this moment,” mom Jones Bickford said. “I told him it was his destiny. I felt like he was called to be a Marine.”